Nearly 20 years after the first perovskite solar cell was created, the efficiency and durability of this small but highly efficient film have attracted attention from industries around the world. Front of the queue is the global defence industry, where rising geopolitical tensions are resulting in record spending by governments to boost capabilities and protect critical systems from attack, whether from natural disasters or more sinister threats like military conflict.

Let’s say you want to encourage more drivers to shift to battery-electric vehicles. What’s the best way to do it?

In the past 12 to 18 months, the NEM’s battery fleet has well and truly crossed the chasm from early adoption to mainstream acceptance, and is slowly becoming a key force in shaping dynamics in the physical market. The build-out is large, the pace of development has been relatively rapid, and — as we saw in AGL and Origin’s half-year results two weeks ago — battery earnings are becoming more of a focal point in company updates and strategy.

Australia leads the world in rooftop solar penetration. More than four million homes now generate power from their own roofs, and battery uptake continues to accelerate nationally. This is a triumph for clean energy, and a global example.

Is the NEM on the cusp of a “Bactrian camel curve” in which small-scale behind-the-meter storage splits the evening peak? Within just six months of Australia’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, small-scale storage is already at a point where it could be supplying up to half of the output of Australia’s largest coal plant, Eraring, during peak load.

Fortescue has begun construction of Western Australia’s biggest solar farm to date as the company pushes ahead with plans to decarbonise its Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade.

The new product has a maximum wattage of 725 W, a maximum current of 22 A, and a maximum efficiency of 99.6%.

Australian retail giant Woolworths Group has announced it is 100% powered by renewable electricity across its superkmarkets, distribution centres, BIG W stores and support offices in Australia and New Zealand.

A new report released by VisNet from EA Technology finds by 2030, Australian household energy loads are projected to rise 35%, with evening peak usage increasing by 60% in homes with electrical vehicles, prompting a call for smarter and more sustainable low voltage electricity networks.

German home energy and electrification company 1KOMMA5° has launched its Heartbeat AI platform in Australia, that optimises the company’s home energy ecosystem and can accelerate battery payback.

The 56 MW Moree Solar Farm in New South Wales recorded the highest capacity factor of all solar farms in the National Electricity Market in 4Q 2025, according to the BloombergNEF Australia Power Market Quarterly report.

UNSW researchers will collaborate with Sydney solar battery installation company Aussie Solar Batteries to design, develop and test AI-driven energy management platforms capable of optimising solar and battery systems.

The Chinese manufacturer has launched its third-generation Vertex S+ G3 dual-glass TOPCon modules for residential and commercial applications. The new products feature upgraded module architecture and a temperature coefficient if -0.26% per C.

Queensland-based gas business Arrow Energy has turned to solar and battery energy storage to help power it coal-seam gas operations in the Queensland’s Surat Basin.

Output from Australia’s large-scale renewable energy sector continues to climb with the nation’s utility PV and wind assets generating a total of 5.0 TWh in February, delivering an 11% increase on the same time last year.

With demand for low- or zero-emission logistics ratcheting up, cold-chain transport specialist Protran Solutions says a refrigerated trailer operating entirely on battery-electric power charged by solar has successfully completed a more than 1,600-kilometre trial run along Australia’s east coast.

Premier Energies has unveiled India’s first zero-busbar TOPCon solar cell, a design that marks a structural shift from traditional 10 and 16 busbar architectures, replacing thick silver busbars with a dense matrix of ultra-fine silver lines to collect current.

The Chinese manufacturer claims the new efficiency result sets a world record for industrial-scale TOPCon solar cells on M10-size wafers. The achievement was verified by an undisclosed independent third-party organisation in China.

Construction has officially commenced on a network upgrade in the New South Wales Upper Hunter that is to boost transfer capacity in the region by at least 1 GW by 2028 in support of the state’s renewable energy transition.

The APX HV Battery 2.0 supports 5–30 kWh capacities and up to 15 kW of output. The IP66-rated system features a stacked, cable-free design.

Kardinia Energy has received a federal grant worth $2.15 million to help scale production of its Newcastle-based printed solar technology.

The inverters offer up to 99.2% efficiency, 200% PV oversizing, dual battery inputs, IP65 protection, and support for installations up to 144 kWh of storage capacity.

UNSW researchers have developed an intrinsic-adjusted single-diode model that explicitly accounts for radiative and Auger recombination, improving I–V curve accuracy and reducing root mean square error by up to a factor of three. The model is claimed to better predict performance near open-circuit voltage and maximum power point.

An Australian research team has developed a five-step, rule-based method that detects and classifies underperformance in PV systems using only AC-side inverter data. Validated across more than 1,000 systems, the approach offers a low-cost, low-intervention solution for improving reliability, fault response, and PV system performance.

Scientists in Hungary found that ground-mounted solar modules at an intermediate elevation of 1.1 metres achieve the highest efficiency and power output due to improved airflow and reduced cell temperature.

The Australian Capital Territory’s first network of neighbourhood batteries is now complete with Evoenergy powering up a 450 kWh battery energy storage system in Canberra’s inner north to help futureproof the city’s electricity grid.

Victoria-headquartered renewables developer and electricity retailer Flow Power has added another solar and battery project to its portfolio with the acquisition of the Dunedoo Energy Project planned for central west New South Wales.

Solar battery installers have been warned to “do it once and do it well” as the number of batteries installed across Australia under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program surges past the 250,000 milestone, delivering a combined 6.3 GWh of capacity.

In 2026, the Clean Energy Regulator forecasts that up to 12 GWh of storage from a potential 520,000 residential battery installations will occur, and rooftop solar will rebound from 2.8 GW in 2025 to between 3-3.7 GW.

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